mishandle

  • 1Mishandle — Mis*han dle, v. t. To handle ill or wrongly; to maltreat. [1913 Webster] …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 2mishandle — I (maltreat) verb abuse, assail, assault, batter, defile, handle badly, ill treat, ill use, impose upon, injure, manhandle, maul, misemploy, misuse, molest, overburden, persecute, ravish, rough, treat abusively, treat ill, treat improperly,… …

    Law dictionary

  • 3mishandle — (v.) c.1500, from MIS (Cf. mis ) (1) + HANDLE (Cf. handle) (v.). Related: Mishandled; mishandling …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 4mishandle — / mismanage [v] mess up abuse, be incompetent, be inefficient, blow, blunder, botch*, bungle, confound, err, flub*, foul up, fumble, goof*, goof up*, gum up*, harm, make a hash of*, make a mess of*, maladminister, misapply, misconduct, misdirect …

    New thesaurus

  • 5mishandle — ► VERB ▪ handle unwisely or wrongly …

    English terms dictionary

  • 6mishandle — [mis han′dəl] vt. mishandled, mishandling to handle badly or roughly; abuse, maltreat, or mismanage …

    English World dictionary

  • 7mishandle — /mis han dl/, v.t., mishandled, mishandling. 1. to handle badly; maltreat: to mishandle a dog. 2. to manage badly: to mishandle an estate. 3. to lose or misplace: to mishandle baggage. [1490 1500; MIS 1 + HANDLE] * * * …

    Universalium

  • 8mishandle — UK [mɪsˈhænd(ə)l] / US verb [transitive] Word forms mishandle : present tense I/you/we/they mishandle he/she/it mishandles present participle mishandling past tense mishandled past participle mishandled a) to deal with a situation or process… …

    English dictionary

  • 9mishandle — mis•han•dle [[t]mɪsˈhæn dl[/t]] v. t. dled, dling 1) to handle roughly; maltreat 2) to manage badly: to mishandle an estate[/ex] • Etymology: 1375–1425 …

    From formal English to slang

  • 10mishandle — transitive verb Date: 1530 1. to treat roughly ; maltreat 2. to deal with or manage wrongly or ignorantly …

    New Collegiate Dictionary